Improved shoe-peg machine



A'UNITED STATES v PATENT OEEICE.

oHAsE, or

IIVIPROVED-SHOE-PEG MACHINE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 19,730, dated March 23, 1858.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, AMOS I-I. BOYD, of Saco, in the county of York and State of Maine, have invented a new and Improved Mode of Manufacturing Shoe-Pegs, of which the following is a specification. Y

The nature of my improvement consists, first,in combining in one machine the several offices of feeding the block of wood from which they are to be cut, of pointing them, and of splitting them; secondly, in moving by a single shaft the several departments of machinery which perform the said several offices, each of said departments keeping pace with the other till the block is pointed and split; thirdly, in the continuous operation of the machine upon a succession of blocks without requiring stoppage or interruption for the purpose of adjustment; fourthly, in the transversely-grooved rollers to hold the block firmly while being pointed, especially during the second or cross pointing, as hereinafter specified, together with other improvements, as will appear in the detailed description hereinafter contained.

The following is a full description of my machine, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and figures and referencesv marked thereon.

A isvthe main frame, in and upon which are supported the several parts of the machine.

Figure l represents a side elevation of my machine. Fig. 2 is a top view of it. Fig. 3 is a View ofthe bed end, or of that end nearest the bed. Fig. 4 is a view of the driving end, or of that end at which the main shaft is placed. Fig. 5 is an end view of the rollers and connecting-gears, other figures being presented in the drawings, all of which will be referred to andv explained.

M, as shown in Fig. l, is the block or bolt of wood from which the pegs are to be split, being a transverse section of a log` of thickness according to the length of peg desired.

a is the bed of the frame, upon which the block M is placed and across which it moves while being split, or (by intermittent moves) to be split.

Elevated above the main frame are six short posts or samsons' a o2 d3 a4 di a, which support two horizontal slide pieces Q Q.

I will now describe each of the different mechanisms by which the different functions of-splitting, pointing, and feeding are perv formed and the manner in which each takes its movement from the main shaft:

First, the mechanism for splitting. The splitter B is a blade of steel secured to a head-block, the two ends of which head-block project into guides c o upon posts orsamsons a and a2, and are made to slide freely in said guides. Said splitter B is attached, as shown in Fig. l, to the upper ends of eccentricrods D D, said eccentric-rods being operated by eccentricsE E on shaftF,the shape` of said eccentrics being shown in dotted line in Fig. 3 of the drawings, and are designed to produce at each revolution of said shaft a recipshaft G produces a corresponding revolution of shaft F.

The pointer N is a steel shaft, with a point of suitable shape and keenness to out an acute, angular groove in the upper surface of the block or bolt when thrust in the manner of a gouge. Pointer N is attached by a pivot near the point o to cross-head P, so that after having-performed its forward movement, by which it cuts itsl groove in the block, it may be elevated clear from the path of the block in its retrograde movement. Cross-head I', shaped as shown in Fig. l in side view, in Figure 2 in top view, and Figs. 8 and 4 in end views, is supported by slides Q Q, the said cross-head embracing the inner edges of said slides by means of projecting' anges and sliding freely thereon for a space correspondj ing to that traversed by the pointer N.

On the back surface of a circular plate attached to bevel-gear H on the main shaft G is crank-pin R, by which is operated arm S, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4 of the drawings, the said arm S being connected at its opposite end by a pivot to cross-head P, by which On shaft G is bevel-gear arrangement at each revolution of said crankpin R cross-head P receives a reciprocating longitudinal movement and pointer N is thrust forward and backward across the path of the block, in its forward movement cutting the groove on the surface and in its backward movement being suspended from contact with the block by a device hereinafter described.

For the combined purposes of feeding the block and of holding it firmly while the pointing is executed, and also of holding the block together after being pointed and split in one direction in order for it to be pointed and split in the other,luse six or more rollers arranged in two rows, one above the other, or three each, each roller having three bearings and extending across the bed of the machine a, and beyond it to the line of gears which operate them, as will be seen in the drawings. The tops of the lower tier of rollers T T T are on a level with the bed a and have their bearings in sets 0f boxes, as follows: one arranged between posts a and cui, another set between posts CL2 and a5, and a third between posts CL3 and a, the manner of the arrangement of said boxes being shown in end view in Figs. 3, 4, and 5 of the drawings, the shape and position of said bearings being plainly indicated in the view of t-he rollers given in Fig. 6. The lower tier of rollers may be more or less transversely corrugated or threaded to answer the purpose for which they are designed, as will be made apparent. The top tier of rollers V V V, having their bearings in number and position conforming to those of the lower tier before described, have also cut around their surfaces for the space to be traversed by the block or bolt a series of transverse grooves corresponding in shape, size, and distance apart to the grooves in the block made by the pointer. The grooved rollers are to be sufficiently elevated above the plane of the bed to allow the block or bolt M to pass between the grooved rollers and the bed, the purpose of said series of grooves being (during the second or cross pointing and splitting) for the thread formed by cutting such grooves to traverse in the grooves inthe block cut by the pointer during the rst passage 0f the block, thereby holding the block firmly together by the teeth to be pointed andY split transversely or across the first grooving.

It will be observed that in order to admit of blocks of different thickness passing between the plane of the bed and the upper rollers x/and also to admit of some slight depression of the upper rollers when they change from feeding the plane or fresh block to the block which has been grooved in one direction the upper rollers must be made capable of some elevation and depression. To effect such elevation or depression without throwing the rollers out of level or out of gear, I make use of coupling-joints W, as seen in Fig. G, the structure of said joints being more elaborately shown in Fig. 7 in detached parts, the right-hand end of the central figure or part representing a side view of the coupling and the left-hand end of it an end view. The different parts of said joint are held together by the bearings of the rollers in the boxes, as aforesaid. I will now describe the mechanism by which the said'six rollers are operated. Upon main shaft Gr is an irregular worm X, engaging in worm-gear y on the end of shaft Z, and its form is shown in Figs. 2, 3,

and 4 of the drawings, showing said shaft G' Said shaft Z in different stages of rotation. has its bearings in boxes fr and r and at its opposite extremity carries gear h, which by means of intermediate gears (Z and e is made to rotate gear f on the end of the nearest lower rollerf, gearing into stud g, and stud g into gear h on the next lower roller, gear 7L in turn gearing into stud '1l and stud vl` into gear ,7' on the third lower roller, by which arrangement the lower rollers are all rotated in the same direction, and the said gears f, h, andj also engaging in gears 7c 7c k on the inner ends of the top tier of rollers. Whenever shaft Z is rotated, as aforesaid, a rotary mo tion is communicated to both tiers of rollers, by which they.cooperate in feeding the block M toward the pointer and splitter. (See Fig. 5 of the drawings.)

As before observed, the lower rollers should be in some degree corrugated or threaded transversely or circularly to aid in preventing the block from being forced laterally by the action of the pointer.

To produce a suitable pressure of the block M between the rollers, I use spring-weights p and p', (shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5 of the drawings,) being metal bolts, hook-shaped or headed at the upper extremities, by which they are made to hold or bear on the caps of the sets of boxes at the two ends of the bed that is, the boxes between posts d and a* and between a2 and cri-the said bolts projecting below the top girt of the frame A and each terminating in a nut having spiral springs around them, as seen in the drawings, which springs have their bearings against the under surface of said girt and against said nut, the said nut being used to graduate rthe pressure.

Fig. 8 of the drawings represents the mechanism before referred to, which I make use of to elevate the pointer N free from the block in its retrograde movement.

I is a projection from cross-head P, inclining downward therefrom and sustaining in bearingstt shaft V. Said bearings are about two inches apart, one only of them being shown in the end or cross view of them given in Fig. 8, the end only of shaft WV being` shown therein. Pointer N passes through shaft WV between said bearings at right an'- gles, the said shaft forming a pivot on which the pointer vibrates. Screw b is used to secure the point-er in shaft N when the posi- Fixed on tion of the pointer is adjusted.

the end of shaft W, inside the inner bearing t, is lever or arm cl2, the shape of which is shown in Fig. 9. Near the extremity of said arm d2, on the inner side,.(or toward the groove next to be describech) is a button of oblong shape, similar to a common door-button, hung on a pivot. This button is designed to traverse in a peculiarly-shaped groove e', keeping pace with the reciprocating movements of the pointer N, and by its action in said groove is made to depress the pointer upon the block in its forward movement and elevate it in its retrograde movement. 'lhus the said groove e', being-of suitable width and shape to guide the button endwise, when the pointer has reached the terminus of its forward course (cutting a groove in the block) one end of the button is thrust into opening f in groove e and obliquely against spring g', by which the button is turned upon itspivot in mannerjco point its opposite end toward the upper parallel of said groove, so that by the retrograde movement of crosshead P the button is guided into and carried along the upper parallel of groove e and by the action of arm d2 on shaft W the pointer is elevated clear of the block. On the pointer reaching its terminus in its retrograde movement bya corresponding arrangement at the other end of groove e the button is again turned, and by the forward movement is carried along the lower parallel of groove e', depressing the pointer upon the block.

Having described in detail all the parts of my machine, it remains to speak o'f its combined action. The bolt M being placed on the bed a and in contact with the rollers and shaft Gr being rotated in a direction to feed the block toward the pointer and splitter during the time that the irregular portion of the worm y (which irregular portion is about onethird the circumference) is in engagement with the worm-gear, the block will be fed the space to be occupied by one groove made by the pointer. During the remainder of a revolution of shaft G the straight or regular part of the worm is traversing in the worm-gear and causes no movement of the block -M, but it is held firmly in a state of rest. At each complete revolution of said shaft G pointer N, operated as before specified, is thrust forward, cutting a groove in t-he block, forming a side to the points of two sections of pegs, and is withdrawn from the path of the block. The splitter B, operated as before specified, is ateach complete revolution of the same shaft G depressed and elevated, when depressed splitting oif a section at the center of the groove cut by the pointer. The machinery is so arranged that the acts of pointing and splitting are performed simultaneously while the block M is at rest, the splitter in its upward movement having attained an elevation clear of the path of the block and the pointer in its retrograde motion being elevated clear of the block, (by the mechanism before'described,) while the irregular part of the worm is traversing in the gear, as aforesaid, to perform the intermittent feed of the block. The block, having been grooved and split into sections in its first passage through the rollers, is again passed through tol be grooved and split across orinto pegs, in which second passage the peculiar office of the said grooves in the upper tier of rollers is called into exercise, as before specified.

IKwill here observe that what I denominate gear d in the foregoingis two gearsfupon one pinion, as will be seen in Fig. 6.

Whatl claim as my invention, and for which l ask Letters Patent, is as follows, viz.:

1. The combination of the pointer, splitter, and intermittent feed of the block, operated conjointly, substantially as specified.

2. The construction and arrangement of the transversely or circumferentially grooved or threaded rollers as a mea-ns of feeding and holding the block or bolt for pointing, substantially as specified. A Y

3. The arrangement and adaptation of worm y for producing the intermittent feed ofthe block.

4. The combination and arrangement of groove e and arm d2 and its button with the pointer for elevating and depressing the pointer, substantially as specified.

AMOS Hl BOYD.. lVitnesses:

ALExF. CHIsHoLM, F. S. DALAND. 

